In July 2024, SPC encouraged residents to take part in the Bristol Avon RiverBlitz 2024, an initiative for ‘citizen scientists’ to sample water from local rivers, as detailed in SPC’s article published at the time.
SPC is aware that anecdotal evidence indicates some users of the River Avon in Saltford have experienced illness following ingesting river water here. The 2023 RiverBlitz volunteer noted: ‘Having spoken to the coaches at the rowing club, they reported rowers getting stomach complaints after ingesting water’. There have been several reports of children and young people becoming ill following swimming in the River Avon in Saltford. In 2018, it was well-publicised that sadly a 12 year old child was placed in isolation for three nights at Bristol Children’s Hospital after swimming in the River Avon at Saltford. Symptoms reported include vomiting, diarrhoea, and severe dehydration.
Measurements taken over the years as part of the RiverBlitz show the river at Saltford to have ‘High Nutrient Pollution’. An interactive map on BART’s RiverBlitz website is available at https://bristolavonriverstrust.org/riverblitz/, which when zoomed into Saltford shows the information in the image below. The ‘red’ over the river marks the ‘High Nutrient Pollution’ levels in the area.
For details of BART’s RiverBlitz 2024 visit their page here. BART states on this page: The pollutants tested for were nitrate and phosphate, substances known as primary components of nutrient pollution, which persists in rivers and lakes across the Bristol Avon catchment. These are substances that mainly enter rivers from agricultural runoff, as fertiliser and animal waste leaching off fields and farms, and from wastewater pollution from sewage overflows. Domestic sources can also be significant in some contexts such as leaky septic tanks, sewage misconnections, garden waste and fertiliser misuse. Nitrate and phosphate are sampled because they are good indicators of general water quality in our rivers. Also, high levels of nutrients in freshwater ecosystems contribute to eutrophication, an overgrowth of single-celled algae. This causes toxic algal blooms and reduces oxygen levels, harming other aquatic life.
SPC thanks all the volunteers involved in BART’S RiverBlitz 2024, and to BART for carrying out this research about local river water quality.
Saltford Parish Council is not responsible for the quality of water at the River Avon in Saltford (this falls under the responsibility of other authorities and organisations). SPC continues to be concerned about the water quality of the river in Saltford, and welcomes measures for its improvement.
SPC is currently engaging with Wessex Water as part of their project to introduce AI information via an app (and website) about water quality in rivers so that those entering the water can make a more informed choice. Following an on-site meeting with SPC, Wessex Water then presented to Saltford Parish Council about their AI App at SPC’s January 2024 meeting. Following correspondence in the interim period about the best location for measuring water quality, a second on-site meeting between SPC, Wessex Water and B&NES Council about this initiative will take place in August 2024.
Last year SPC also urged B&NES Council to take action to create a ‘safer, cleaner river’ including the river bank which is owned by B&NES Council on the Saltford side (‘Riparian Owner’). Please visit SPC’s article here including a copy of SPC’s request to B&NES Council titled ‘A safer, cleaner river for users and wildlife‘. (The riverbank opposite Saltford is privately owned, any concerns with regards to issues or litter at this location need to be made to the landowner directly).
As further information so those entering the river can make an informed choice, SPC’s page titled ‘River Water Quality‘ includes information about raw sewage entering the river at Saltford (including on The Shallows and Mead Lane), as follows: The River Avon in Saltford has four ‘storm overflows’ where untreated raw sewage enters the river directly. Storm overflows are safety valves built into the combined sewer system to discharge excess sewage to rivers. The quality of river water in Saltford is not tested by the Environment Agency (as it is not a designated bathing area). Instances of ‘storm overflows’ occur multiple times a year. in 2020 the storm overflow near Kelston Weir (near the marinas / boat clubs) in Saltford spilled 94 times into the River Avon in Saltford for a total of 150hrs. A second storm overflow on The Shallows near under the cycle path bridge spilled 62 times for a total of 68hrs into the River Avon at Saltford.
Residents may also be interest in the Rivers Trust ‘Is my river fit to play in’ map. The Rivers Trust advise as follows: ‘Avoid entering the water immediately downstream of these discharges and avoid the overflows (brown circles), especially after it has been raining’.
A sewage water treatment plant for the Bath and wider area is located in Mead Lane, Saltford, owned by Wessex Water and known as the ‘Saltford Water Recycling Centre’ (as viewed on the interactive map to the north of Saltford). In 2023 Wessex Water released a Storm Overflow Improvement Map, showing planned improvements to be made between 2020 and 2025.’ SPC welcomes works that are currently taking place near the Saltford Rowing Club by Wessex Water to reduce the amount of raw sewage entering the river at Saltford through the creation of a 50m3 storm storage tank. Information about this environmental initiative by Wessex Water can be found in SPC’s article ‘Wessex Water project to start near Saltford Rowing Club‘ as published in May 2024.